Top 10 Titans of Generation 8 Ubers
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Art by skrimps.
Introduction
Just like a lot of other metagames in Sword and Shield, Ubers started out this generation as basically a blank state; with only three Pokémon being banned from the get-go (Zacian, Zamazenta, and Eternatus), the metagame saw levels of centralization that hadn't been seen since RBY. With conventional, usage-based tiers banning Dynamax almost immediately, Ubers felt more and more alien at the beginning of the generation. With each DLC dropping, more Pokémon and thus strategies became available, but the existence of the Dynamax list (a list of Pokémon that could not Dynamax, based on what tier they started their tenure in) kept it looking alien when compared to other tiers. It wasn't until the Crown Tundra DLC that Ubers became more stable, with Dynamax and Baton Pass having been banned. While some Pokémon have remained relevant since day 1, others became available much later, shaking up the metagame completely and warping teambuilding around them, or even through them. This article will categorize the ten Pokémon that made the biggest splash in the tier, from the humble days of Quagsire being viable to present day Calyrex-S's dominance.
10
Newer players are perhaps surprised to see Excadrill be the tenth titan of Ubers, dethroning the likes of Groudon or some other legendary such as Rayquaza. However, it's no exaggeration to say that Excadrill was the most threatening Pokémon until DLC 1 and remained a top-tier threat all the way until Dynamax was banned in DLC 2. Rapid Spin's buff to boost Speed was major for Excadrill, as it could now boost two different stats with Swords Dance and Rapid Spin, two moves it was running anyways. Not only that, but the limited Pokémon selection made Excadrill even more excellent, as its checks overlapped with other top-level threats such as Zacian-C and Galarian Darmanitan; this meant it could act as either a wallbreaker enabling its teammates or a cleaner/sweeper if its checks in Quagsire and Corviknight had already been weakened. Moreover, Dynamax made it even more self sufficient, with Rock Slide turning into Max Rockfall to activate its Sand Rush, making it impossible to revenge kill without a Ditto. Unfortunately for Excadrill, DLC 2 saw the ban of Dynamax and the introduction of better sweepers, and it has fallen largely out of favor as a result. Its impact on the metagame was nonetheless large enough to warrant its place on this list.
9
What kind of top 10 list would it be without Xerneas? As one of the most potent teambuilder threats as well as one of the best sweepers in the tier, Xerneas has a lot of influence on the metagame. Geomancy is as strong as ever, essentially forcing Necrozma-DM onto every team, even hyper offense, or else they risk losing instantly. Defensive Xerneas has merit too, picking up this generation with Rest and Aromatherapy to be a good support cleric that can check Marshadow. It can be dealt with the same ways it has been for the past few generations: Necrozma-DM, Ho-Oh, Blissey, etc., but it can still find ways past these Pokémon and provide utility for its team, making it an impossible force to ignore in the metagame that competes with even the strongest of special attackers like Kyogre and Calyrex-S for influence on the tier. Magearna losing Heart Swap in the generational shift makes it even more restricting in the teambuilder. Xerneas is only not higher on the list due to having a short lifespan in SS Ubers, only joining with the DLC 2 changes, but make no mistake, it's one of the most impactful forces Ubers has to offer.
8
Kyogre made a huge splash when it first arrived in DLC 2. While two of its best checks historically in Ferrothorn and Blissey were both still around and Eternatus was already seeing great usage, Kyogre almost immediately wrapped the metagame around it, forcing at bare minimum one slot just to check it. Pokémon like Eternatus and Blissey now were running sets specifically to beat it, and Eternatus could no longer afford to run physical bulk to check Marshadow, as it then became fodder for Water Spout. Similarly, Blissey to this day is forced to run Utility Umbrella in case of Choice Specs Water Spout blowing it back. But Kyogre's biggest asset is its versatility: Choice Scarf and Choice Specs, Rest + Calm Mind, Substitute, and Block sets share similar checks but are never countered by just one foe.
7
Gothitelle is the reason Shadow Tag as a whole is banned from Generation 8 Ubers, when it never was in previous generations. With Cosmic Power, Charm, Rest, and Taunt, Gothitelle was able to stall out pretty much every defensive Pokémon completely to open up the game for every wallbreaker from Zacian-C to Marshadow to Kyogre. It warped the tier to the point where if you weren't running Shed Shell or fast Swords Dance as your Necrozma-DM set, your team was near guaranteed to lose to multiple attackers, while the same goes for Shed Shell or Dragon Tail Eternatus. Removing the ability to switch and to check such powerful attackers was far too much for Ubers's very high power level, so Gothitelle was promptly banned during DLC 2, but its effects in previous metagames as well as the start of DLC 1 cannot be forgotten.
6
Lunala was one of the biggest beneficiaries of the metagame shifts that came about in Sword and Shield. Heavy-Duty Boots is a godsend for keeping its Shadow Shield intact, while the removal of Pursuit made it much more difficult to remove. In its introduction pre-DLC 1, it was widely considered a top level threat, with its Choice Specs set having no hard counters. With the arrival of DLC 1, its offensive sets were not as strong, but its pivoting sets utilizing Teleport as well as its defensive sets became much better. Its bulk and Speed tier meant it could check a lot of Dynamax sweepers and cripple them with a status move, be it Thunder Wave or Will-O-Wisp. Quite literally nothing could OHKO defensive Lunala, save for some boosted Dynamaxed sweepers such as Life Orb Shadow Claw Excadrill, Urshifu-S, and, of course, Choice Band Marshadow. As the generation progressed into the modern day, Calyrex-S ended up overshadowing Lunala's offensive sets, but its defensive sets became much more coveted, as Pokémon such as Groudon and Rayquaza got reintroduced. Lunala is, to this day, one of the tier's defensive pivots; outside of being annoyed by status moves, something that cleric teammates such as Blissey and Xerneas can patch up, Lunala can switch into anything that doesn't threaten it with a super effective move.
5
Yveltal is the king of the DLC 2 Ubers metagame, taking its spot as the fifth titan of the generation. The utility offered by defensive Yveltal is almost too good to give up no matter how the team compensates, with moves like Defog, U-turn, Knock Off, and Toxic all being strong support options to apply pressure and help teams in long games. Offensively, Yveltal is no slouch either, being one of the scariest wallbreakers on offense and balance teams with the right support. Hone Claws and Life Orb all-out attacking sets can rip through unprepared teams, meaning everyone has to pack some form of check to those sets. Yveltal's greatest quality, though, is its ease of fitting on teams, as the best Calyrex-S check in the game. Usually being the only thing stopping it from ripping through teams, Yveltal is essentially mandatory on every SS Ubers team, but with its great utility, it doesn't feel restricting to have to use.
4
Necrozma-DM was one of the few straight-to-Ubers Pokémon released once we got access to HOME. Its amazing typing, base stats, and ability have carried it from day 1 into the high echelons of the Viability Rankings as both a defensive wall and an offensive behemoth. During its early days, Necrozma-DM was run either as a defensive check to Zacian-C or a bulky Dynamax sweeper thanks to the newest tool in its arsenal: Dragon Dance. Once Dynamax was removed as an option, it became the designated Steel-type for most teams, checking Zacian-C and Eternatus and cementing itself as the best Stealth Rock setter. While its recovery options in Morning Sun and Moonlight are not the most reliable, its colossal defensive stats and Prism Armor made sure it was really difficult to take down. DLC 2 only made Necrozma-DM's position in the metagame more unshakable, with it now being invaluable as a Xerneas check and the best utility Pokémon thanks to Thunder Wave, Knock Off, and Stealth Rock. Its offensive sets are still as scary as ever, with bulky Dragon Dance sets bridging its role as a specially defensive wall and more traditional setup sweeper, while maximum Speed Dragon Dance sets that forego recovery can beat its checks such as Ho-Oh and defensive Kyogre with Stone Edge and Photon Geyser, respectively.
3
Calyrex-S has been one of the most polarizing and controversial forces throughout all of Generation 8 Ubers. Initially assumed to be held back by a lack of coverage moves, Calyrex-S actually has everything it needs to be arguably the most oppressive force in SS Ubers. Astral Barrage is almost impossible to switch into, leaving only hard counters safe rather than soft checks. Yveltal is the best at this, holding back what would otherwise be a threat far too powerful for Ubers. Even Yveltal isn't safe, however, as Calyrex-S has Nasty Plot + Draining Kiss sets to break through any not running maximum Special Defense and SubSeed to deal with ones lacking Taunt or Snarl that aren't paired with Pokémon like Blissey or Whirlwind Ho-Oh. Yveltal sees almost 100% usage, not only for its own strengths, but also out of necessity to beat Calyrex-S reliably. Calyrex-S narrowly avoided being banned by suspect test near the end of the generation, so it continues to dominate the tier, being one of the premier offensive threats.
2
Zacian-C clocks in as the second most influential Pokémon in SS Ubers and the highest entry on our list that would eventually get banned. Since the beginning of the generation, Zacian-C's monstrous base 170 Attack that Intrepid Sword elevates even further, insanely useful typing in Fairy/Steel, fantastic Speed, and myriad of coverage options have all culminated into it being seen as the best wallbreaker and cleaner in the tier. Not only that, but for the months that Dynamax was legal, Zacian-C acted as an anti-Dynamax option thanks to Behemoth Blade, severely limiting offensive counterplay against it. Because of how vast its movepool is, Zacian-C could pick and choose what it wanted to hit. Play Rough, Crunch or Assurance, Fire Fang, Close Combat, and Wild Charge were all common options during its tenure. Swords Dance became a staple rather fast, making it nigh impossible to withstand a hit from Zacian-C, while some sets even ran Quick Attack as a tech to be able to revenge kill... Choice Scarf Dugtrio. Zacian-C also took advantage of its typing for sinister, bulkier sets. Agility sets would run little to no Speed, preferring to hit defensive benchmarks that made revenge killing them nigh impossible all while outspeeding even the fastest of Choice Scarf users at +2. At the end of its lifespan in Crown Tundra, Zacian-C adopted a bulkier set that would outspeed Adamant Marshadow and be able to take a Choice Specs Astral Barrage from Calyrex-S, requiring multiple Pokémon to be taken down. In some rare scenarios, it even employed RestTalk strategies, turning it into one of the best Yveltal answers in the tier. The most common check was physically defensive Necrozma-DM, which could brush off most damage from Zacian-C and then whittle it down with Rocky Helmet chip. Unfortunately, the combination of entry hazards and Assurance was discovered, which could do just enough damage to put Necrozma-DM into Close Combat range, making every turn a 50 / 50 between Assurance and any other move Zacian-C had. The sole Pokémon to reliably be able to check Zacian-C was Heavy-Duty Boots Unaware Quagsire, being just bulky enough to avoid being 2HKOed by Adamant Play Rough. On January 2nd 2021, Ubers decided to hold a suspect test for Zacian-C, which concluded with its ban on January 17th.
1
Taking its place as the top titan of the Generation 8 Ubers metagame is, unsurprisingly, Eternatus. Being one of the few Ubers available throughout the entirety of the game's lifespan, Eternatus has been the glue of the metagame for years. Its versatility and ease to fit on teams can only be rivaled by Necrozma-DM, Yveltal, and previous generations' Arceus. With incredible base stats, one of the most useful abilities as a wall in Pressure, and a plethora of useful utility and coverage moves, Eternatus has it all. During the early metagames before DLC, Eternatus was either a wall with Black Sludge or Shed Shell that could soft check just about everything including Dracovish, Marshadow, and Rotom-W or an offensive Life Orb attacker. It was blessed with Flamethrower, meaning nothing resisted its coverage and making it a terrifying wallbreaker with dual STAB moves, Flamethrower, and Recover or a surprise Agility sweeping set. In modern Crown Tundra Ubers, Eternatus has taken a step up in utility, amazingly enough. Being given Meteor Beam opened up a new set of options to it, with the Cosmic Power crit-me-not sweeper set or a fully offensive Meteor Beam set. It holds the tier together by checking many Pokémon like Yveltal, Marshadow, and Kyogre by itself, which are all top threats. Having been one of the strongest Pokémon through every iteration of Generation 8 Ubers, Eternatus has surely earned its place as the most influential Pokémon the metagame has seen.
Final Thoughts
With this list, that marks the end of SS being the current metagame. It had an immense level of power creep, leading to the most bans in Ubers history, but that allowed the metagame to be shaped into a much more balanced one while still producing many titans throughout the years. Generation 8 will still continue to develop through forum tournaments, but we look forward to what Generation 9 has to offer, as well as what new and old titans will rule the metagame!
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